Audeze Mobius

The mic isn't the issue, it's how everyone else sounds with VS enabled. They too get thrown into the mix, so they get all echoey and weird sounding.

 

Oh, other solutions don't do that? Interesting...

 

The channel balance is actually pretty good on these. Unfortunately, this is a common limitation with gaming headsets, i.e. one channel has other circuitry and shit in one cup than the other. Even having one cup with USB and 3.5mm ports in it affects the response. The Mobius does a pretty good job minimizing this, even going so far as including vents in the right cups to try to compensate for the USB/aux ports in the left cup. That Audeze even went as far as to try to correct it in DSP and openly admits the reality of this common problem is actually pretty impressive to me.

Any particularly noticeable signs of channel imbalance, at least to me, would seem more likely caused by asymmetrical features of your head, hair, ears, or head accessories (glasses) that affect how the headphones fit and seal between both channels. Though I suppose I can't rule out unruly or broken pairs.


So, some other updates with the Mobius as I've been using it:

1. The Logitech G633's virtual surround solution, going with the Dolby option (the DTS stuff is awful), works a whole hell of a lot better to me. Yeah, the frequency response, tone, and liveliness isn't quite as good as the Mobius's in either 2D or 3D mode, but you can dial it in fairly well with an actually customizable EQ. C'mon, Audeze! Do more than just presets! The main problem with the G633 is a lower-mid depression that you can't totally fix with EQ, but you can at get everything else sounding OK enough. And you can even tone down the bass, unlike the Mobius!

I let my friend try the Mobius at my place, and he said the localization and 3D pinpointing was "trash" on the Mobius compared to his G933 despite his efforts to tweak head size and ambiance parameters in Audeze's software. I didn't have his G933 on hand for my own comparison, so I picked up a G633.

And since having tried a G633, just a wired G933, for myself, I'm inclined to agree. The Mobius struggles to portray a good surround sound field compared to these headsets. To get any reasonable stage and 3D sense around you on the Mobius, the reverb becomes way too strong. Toning down the reverb just makes them sound weird.

The G633/933 have a fairly good VSS solution for gaming without mucking things up or adding too much reverb.

I mean, I guess the Mobius bests the DTS stuff built into the G633/933, but that's not saying much. Mobius is good here, but not good enough. And I still don't think head tracking saves it.

Again, this is primarily targeted at competitive PC gaming, where you want some normality in your sound quality but are overall focused on getting a competitive edge through being able to localize and pinpoint sounds around you.


2. The GSX 1000 has a slightly better VSS implementation than the G633/933 even still. And you can plug in your choice of headphones and mics. This is good, because I don't find the Mobius or G633 comfortable, nor do I care for their mics (either too sensitive or not sensitive enough, and seem omnidirectional, whereas I want unidirectional).

Plus it's dead simple to use and requires to extra software or drivers.

I think if purchased new, today, you get a newer firmware that fixes some complaints folks used to a have about the GSX 1000. Better mic quality, better VSS, etc.

There's also some strong caveats to getting good sound out of the GSX 1000. But, working around that, you can build quite a good VSS solution for PC gaming. I think I will post more on this later, because my findings were pretty funny!

Downside is you don't get a single-cord or wireless option with the GSX 1000. You have this whole separate device and then two cables, one for headphone and one for mic, running into it. I can live with that, though.


3. The Mobius is pretty sleek compared to these options, and probably has the most enjoyable listening experience out of the box. Flip through the EQ presets, plug into whatever device you choose, and use either 2D or 3D mode on the fly.

So, I guess you could say the Mobius has more of an all-rounder status, but just doesn't excel where I need it to for competitive PC gaming.

And I think this all just makes me realize that it's way overpriced at $400. This becomes apparent once its sleek nature wears off. Yeah, give me the G633, even if it looks tacky and has super creaky plastic parts. It's a quarter of the price and gives me more of what I need.

Mobius should have been left at its crowd funding price.

 

Well, I am glad the pair you have cost me $200. I'll probably use it with the switch.

 

Thanks for the tip. I'll be picking up some of those pads. What material is preferred? I don't know if I want suede or lambskin.